Al Green was born Albert Leornes Greene on April 13, 1946, in Forrest City, Arkansas.[5] The sixth of ten children born to Cora Lee and Robert G. Greene, Jr., a sharecropper, Al began performing with his brothers in a group called the Greene Brothers at around the age of ten. The Greene family relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the late 1950s.[6] Al was kicked out of the family home while in his teens, after his religiously devout father caught him listening to Jackie Wilson.[7]

"I also listened to Mahalia Jackson, all the great gospel singers. But the most important music to me was those hip-shakin’ boys: Wilson Pickett and Elvis Presley. I just loved Elvis Presley. Whatever he got, I went out and bought."

In high school, Al formed a vocal group called Al Greene & the Creations.[8] Two of the group's members, Curtis Rodgers and Palmer James, formed an independent label called Hot Line Music Journal. In 1968, having changed their name to Al Greene & the Soul Mates, they recorded the song "Back Up Train", releasing it on Hot Line Music. The song was a hit on the R&B charts. However, the group's subsequent follow-ups failed to chart, as did their debut album, Back Up Train. While performing with the Soul Mates, Green came into contact with Memphis record producer Willie Mitchell, who hired him in 1969 to be a vocalist for a Texas show with Mitchell's band. Following the performance, Mitchell asked Green to sign with his Hi Records label.

Having noted that Green had been trying to sing like Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett and James Brown, Mitchell became his vocal mentor, coaching him into finding his own voice. Before releasing his first album with Hi, Green removed the final "e" from his name. Subsequently, he released Green Is Blues, which was a moderate success. His follow-up album, Al Green Gets Next to You, featured the hit R&B cover of the Temptations' "I Can't Get Next to You", recorded in a slow blues-oriented version. The album also featured his first significant hit, "Tired of Being Alone", which sold half a million copies and was certified gold, becoming the first of seven consecutive gold singles Green would record in the next couple of years.

On October 18, 1974, shortly after Al Green Explores Your Mind was released, Mary Woodson White, a girlfriend of Green's, assaulted him before committing suicide at his Memphis home.[18] Although she was already married, White reportedly became upset when Green refused to marry her.[19] At some point during the evening, White doused Green with a pan of boiling grits while he was bathing, causing severe burns on Green's back, stomach and arms.[20] She then found his .38 and killed herself. In her purse, police found a note declaring her intentions and her reasons.

Green cited the incident with White as a wake-up call to change his life.[18] He became an ordained pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis in 1976.[21] Continuing to record R&B, Green saw his sales start to slip and drew mixed reviews from critics. In 1979, Green injured himself falling off the stage while performing in Cincinnati and interpreted this as a message from God. He then concentrated his energies towards pastoring his church and gospel singing. His first gospel album was The Lord Will Make a Way. From 1981 to 1989 Green recorded a series of gospel albums, garnering eight "soul gospel performance" Grammy Awards in that period. In 1985, he reunited with Willie Mitchell along with Angelo Earl for He Is the Light, his first album for A&M Records. In 1984, director Robert Mugge released a documentary film, Gospel According to Al Green, including interviews about his life and footage from his church.[22]

In June 1977, Green married Shirley Kyles.[1] They had three daughters together, Alva, Rubi and Kora.[1] The marriage lasted until January 1983. Shirley later alleged that Green had been subjecting her to domestic violence throughout their marriage.[1]